Mt Albert residents' coffee-sipping show of solidarity

Residents are taking their own tables and chairs down to a local cafe to protest. Photo / iStock

Fed up residents of the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert will be having a shot of protest action with their coffees this morning.

They are taking their own tables and chairs down to a local cafe which had its outdoor furniture and pot plants ordered off the street by Auckland Council.

It will be a coffee-sipping show of solidarity with the owners of Pyrenees Cafe.

Local MP and cafe regular David Shearer said the council ordered the removal of pot plants and furniture from outside the Pyrenees Cafe, even though they don't encroach on the footpath.

It's heavy handed, and he's tired of such bureaucracy, and others agree, he said.

The protesters will sit in their own chairs and tables and drink a coffee to stand up for the cafe.

It's just one among bigger issues in the suburb, like a town centre the council has been promising to clean up for a decade, Mr Shearer said.

The local community had spoken with the council, had consultations and plans coming out of their ears, but nothing gets done, and it's time to take to the streets, he said.